The use of hand-held, typically gas operated chain saws, has become quite prevalant today, and concomitant therewith, there has been an increase in the number of injuries associated with the use of such chain saws. One of the main causes of injury is so-called chain saw "kickback", which is caused, e.g., by the chain striking a knot in the wood or by the upper run of the chain engaging a branch or log while being operated. In either event, the chain saw "kicks back" and, if the operator is unprepared, the momentum may carry the chain saw back far enough, allowing the upper edge of the chain to strike the operator in the chest or head, causing severe injury.
To overcome this problem, various chain saw guards have been proposed to minimize this problem (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 988,112; 2,937,673; 3,636,996; 3,384,136; 3,991,470; 4,060,894; and 4,294,012). While perhaps satisfactory, they generally have been found to have certain drawbacks. For example, some are rather complicated in construction and cumbersome to use. Others do not allow for ready attachment to a variety of different types of chain saws, nor afford easy assembly and disassembly. Still others do not allow for ready viewing of the chain, while at the same time affording protection to the operator from flying debris and the possibility of chain saw kickback. Further, no presently-available chain saw guard appears to be as simple in construction and operation, safe and as easy to use, as the chain saw guard hereinafter disclosed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel chain saw guard which is specifically intended to protect the operator from chain saw "kickback".
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a chain saw guard which is simple in construction and operation and economical to manufacture.
It is a another object of the present invention to provide such a chain saw guard which is readily removable and exchangeable and which is dependable and reliable in operation.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a chain saw guard having the following attributes and characteristics, which is readily adaptable to conventional chain saws, which is lightweight and easy to use.